[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 17, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1563-H1564]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      STORIES FROM NORTH CAROLINA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss reforming the health 
care insurance market in this country. It is really time to put health 
insurance back on the side of the people back home. To me this issue 
has never been about politics; it's about people. It's about North 
Carolina families and small businesses. I have heard from thousands of 
North Carolinians from all perspectives. And I want to share some of 
their stories because my phones are still ringing. These are the 
stories of real people on North Carolina's Main Streets and country 
roads.
  I talked the other day to a farmer in Johnston County in North 
Carolina, the county where I grew up in a family of tenant farmers. 
This farmer has health insurance that costs him over $20,000 a year. He 
told me, We've got to fix this broken system that leaves too many 
families out in the cold.
  A woman from Raleigh, North Carolina, our State's capital city, fears 
she will suffer the same fate as her sister who died from asthma 
because she could not get coverage. There's a lot of fear out there 
right now. Her fear is real. It is the fear of the consequences of a 
health care system that's not working for everyone.
  She wrote me and said, Like many Americans, I take health care reform 
very seriously, and I feel that this is no time to bow to petty 
bickering or false arguments. This issue is also very personal to me. 
You see, my 33-year-old sister died just last December of asthma, a 
perfectly livable condition if only she had the right treatment. She 
didn't. She simply couldn't afford her medication, even with family 
help.
  I also suffer from the same condition as my sister, and I have to 
say, it scares me to think that if it weren't for

[[Page H1564]]

my husband's job, I could end up like my sister. He's been at his 
company for less than a year now, and I pray he doesn't lose his job or 
his coverage. So as you see, Congressman Etheridge, health care reform 
is a deeply personal issue for me, and it is one that I hope will 
finally be resolved this year. It's too late for my sister, but I'm 
hoping this gets done soon, especially before her daughter gets out on 
her own. I don't want her ever to have to deal with what her mother and 
I are dealing with under this ghastly system.
  And a nurse from Sanford, North Carolina, recently wrote me in favor 
of health reform, and she said, Insurance premiums are too high. How 
can we wrestle the high cost of health insurance from the companies? 
When they tell a physician how much he can charge for a procedure or 
what medications he can prescribe, we are allowing untrained, 
uneducated individuals to dictate health care to our system in this 
country.
  And a woman in Louisburg, North Carolina, says, Please vote ``yes'' 
on health care reform. I have a very successful new business that my 
son would like to join me in, but he can't afford to leave his current 
employer's health plan because he has a child with autism. No private 
plan will provide coverage for him, even though he has never filed a 
claim for his treatment of autism. We are not looking for a handout, 
just a fair playing field. Everyone should be able to get insurance.
  And a young man from Raleigh wrote and said, I want to thank you very 
much for the work you have been doing in my district and urge you to 
vote for the health care reform bill. Despite the misinformation and 
outright lies that are being spread about the bill, I hope the House 
acts to pass comprehensive reform to our broken system.
  My girlfriend, whom I love very much, has a disease which prevents 
her from getting coverage. In fact, the insurance company dropped her 
when they found out she had it. This disease will very possibly lead to 
her death. While it is too late for this bill to help her, I do not 
want any other American to have to worry about how they will get 
treatment for any disease that they may have. I urge you to vote for 
the bill.
  Another woman from Clayton, North Carolina, tells me she has a brain 
tumor, and as of December of this past year, the insurance company 
dropped her coverage. She is talking now to an attorney and plans to 
file bankruptcy. And this is a tragedy. These are examples of why we 
need reform.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm listening to North Carolinians from all perspectives 
and a wide range of points of view about this system. We need reform 
that cuts costs, assures quality of care, patient choice and prohibits 
denials for preexisting conditions.

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